One teen charged, two sought in videotaped beating on bus

UPDATE: The second male alternative high school student sought by Chester police investigating the videotaped beating on a school bus surrendered this afternoon. He is on his way to the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center, according to city Police Commissioner Joseph Bail Jr.

Bail indicated authorities are no long seeking a teenage female who was on the Southeast Delco school bus when the Oct. 9 assault occurred .

“Right now we are holding off on charging her and conducting reinterviews at (District Attorney Jack Whelan’s) request,” Bail said.

CHESTER — A 16-year-old alternative high school student has been charged with juvenile aggravated assault and related offenses in connection with a videotaped beating on a Southeast Delco School District bus, and two other teens are still being sought, authorities said Tuesday.

“One is in custody and we are looking for the other two,” Chester Police Commissioner Joseph Bail Jr. said, referring to another male and female on the bus at the time of the Oct. 9 incident as it traveled through the city. The names of the teens are being withheld by the Daily Times because of their age.

The 16-year-old student, who was on juvenile probation when the alleged assault occurred, is being held at the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center pending a detention hearing within 72 hours, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan. Additional charges petitioned by Chester juvenile authorities include simple assault, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct, harassment and conspiracy.

“I hope they keep him in juvie,” Jackee Fonner of Sharon Hill said Tuesday night. “My son is hiding and he shouldn’t be able to walk around freely.”

Seventeen-year-old Dylan Fonner’s face was bloodied and three of his teeth were reportedly chipped from punches thrown, allegedly by the incarcerated teen, during the afternoon ride home from The County Alternative High School in Middletown, on Southeast Delco Bus 37, a van. The incident has made headlines as far as the United Kingdom.

Five students, four males and a female, and a male driver can been seen on the nearly seven-minute video, which was posted on Facebook the afternoon of Oct. 10. The grainy video was recorded on a cellphone by one of the alleged male offenders and tagged to the second offender and female on the bus.

“This is clearly a savage, unprovoked attack on a student riding a school bus. Outrageous doesn’t describe the emotion when you look at the video,” Whelan said late Tuesday afternoon.

In reference to the 16-year-old now in custody, Whelan said, “We are reviewing our options whether to certify him as an adult.”

Fonner and John and Athena Buonadonna Blythe of Collingdale, the parents of another student who was victimized in the bus attack, filed a report at Chester Police Headquarters Monday. CJ Buonadonna came home from school the afternoon in question with a small bump on his head and complaining of a headache, his mother said.

CJ Buonadonna and Dylan Fonner were seated side by side when the punches were first thrown.

Buonadonna said he raised his arms to shield his face. He thinks a piece of Fonner’s chipped tooth may have landed in his lap when a second punch was thrown at Fonner.

The parents of the two teens also said they were satisfied with actions against the alleged offenders that they were told were taken by school authorities, until they viewed the video Friday. Jackee Fonner said she cried and Athena Blythe said it was “10 times worse” than what she imagined from what her son told her.

The parents were especially furious that the driver allegedly did nothing to stop the assault or render aid after it occurred.

Athena Blythe previously said she wants the driver at least fired, while her husband John, CJ’s stepfather, hopes to see him charged criminally

“My main concern is the bus driver and I’m just waiting to see what is going on,” Athena Blythe said Tuesday night.

According to Whelan, a second alleged juvenile male offender is facing charges of conspiracy to commit attempted aggravated and simple assault, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and harassment.

The female, who is being sought for questioning, is also facing conspiracy offenses, Bail said.

In watching the video, Whelan said he found the driver’s lack of action “callous,” but added whether the driver’s conduct rises to the level of a crime under the Pennsylvania Crime Code “remains under review.”

At one point during the video, a bloodied Fonner tells the bus driver to pull over, but the bus keeps moving. Whelan said it’s understandable that the bus driver would not have allowed a student to exit the bus at that point.

“I would have expected the bus driver, any bus driver, to have pulled over and called police, the school district and then wait for further direction,” Whelan said. “Once you get to a point where there are repeated punches with obvious injuries to a student’s face and nose, I believe it is incumbent on a bus driver to call police and report to the school district.”

Whelan said he is not familiar with Southeast Delco’s protocol involving bus drivers. A report was filed by the bus driver with the district, he noted.

According to CJ Buonadonna, as the bus was heading toward I-95, the driver called over his radio asking for a callback on his cell.

“I had a situation,” Buonadonna heard the driver say.

Buonadonna wasn’t aware of any further communication. After the assault, he said his attention was on his iPhone, which he positioned as a mirror to watch the alleged offenders when they moved to the back of the bus and watched the video.

On Monday, Southeast Delco School District Superintendent Dr. Stephen Butz issued a prepared statement indicating that the actions of staff members aware of the incident were under review to determine if district policies were followed.

On Sunday, Michael Puppio, solicitor for the Delaware County Intermediate Unit that oversees the alternative school, said central administration would fully cooperate if law enforcement became involved. At the time, central administrators had not seen the video.

CJ Buonadonna said during an interview Saturday at his home that though they’d had problems with the two alleged male offenders before, he suspected the assault carried over from incidents both he and Dylan had that same day at school; CJ’s during wood shop and Dylan’s during gym.

“They’re idiots, they’re the top bullies,” he said of the alleged male offenders.

The female student who also rides the bus was apparently twerking, or grinding, on Dylan Fonner in gym, but Fonner did not reciprocate, the teen said.

CJ Buonadonna said verbal taunting by one of the males toward Fonner started just minutes into the bus ride home that afternoon. A portion of the early taunting heard on the video regards the type of women to which Fonner is attracted.

The taunting continued and then turned physical.

The video depicts Fonner being punched twice. It shows his bloody face, as well as blood on the floor of the bus.

“Throughout the year, they’ve been harassing me, but I didn’t think it would lead up to this,” Dylan Fonner said in a telephone interview Sunday.

Though he was feeling fine Sunday, he admitted that he was “a little bit scared” that afternoon on the bus.

Neither Buonadonna nor Fonner have returned to school. The Blythes and Jackee Fonner said their sons have been threatened as snitches.

“I’m concerned about retaliation and my son just feeling safe,” Athena Blythe said.

Blythe said she’s also concerned about his lost education.

According to the parents, the two alleged male offenders were expelled from school. Authorities for both Southeast Delco and the I.U. said they were prohibited under state and federal law to discuss any disciplinary actions against students.